Special Collections and Archives highlights: 2024 edition

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Clair Waller

Karen Brayshaw, Special Collections and Archives Manager

As 2024 draws to a close it is my great pleasure to look back on another busy and exciting year of activity in the University’s Special Collections and Archives. The only change to our Team this year is that we said goodbye our project archivist Daniella in the summer. Daniella worked with us on two funded projects, the David Drummond Pantomime Collection and the collection from the Craigmyle Fundraising Consultants. The project included sorting, listing, repackaging, and making the two collections accessible and discoverable. You may have seen what she got up to on our social media channels. We wish Daniella well in her new venture.

Daniella with some Aladdin material from the David Drummond Pantomime Collection.

The whole team have been amazing colleagues throughout the year – especially when I had to step back from work for a few months in order to recover from a health issue – I am very lucky to work with such an awesome team! Although I’ve missed seeing the work that has taken place in the last three months, I have been able to follow the exciting events through colleagues and social media. One of the many highlights of the year for me was the amazing exhibition celebrating Kent’s rich mining history. It was a great example of collaborative working with our volunteers and in this case we owe many thanks to Amy. It proved to be a popular attraction, and we had many visitors to the gallery, including external groups. As well as overseeing and co-curating our wonderful exhibitions, Beth has been busy working with the philanthropic community to grow the UK Philanthropy Archive and raising the funds to enable us to catalogue them. I’m looking forward to 2025 when much of this work will take place and the records will be added to our catalogue. Beth also has a loyal group of volunteers who come in regularly to work on the University archive, which will be super helpful next year as we approach the University’s 60th anniversary. Beth has also worked to deliver new and innovative sessions for external groups, and it was a joy to see the pantomime collection being utilised to stimulate the students from Canterbury College exploring ideas for their projects.

Clair has had an amazing year, working to get more of our collections listed, repackaged, and added to the online catalogue for all to see. A significant amount of this has been made possible through the excellent work Clair does with student work placements and volunteers. I was especially pleased to see the Holt’s Bairnsfather collection being listed and repackaged – you can read more about it below. Clair has also been busy this year overseeing loans of collection items for external exhibitions, which is another way of sharing our amazing collections with wider audiences.

Christine has also been busy devising new sessions and introducing new material to the seminar groups, exposing the academics and students to the richness of our collections. In 2023 we were pleased to receive the Louis James collection and Christine has done an amazing job of cataloguing the whole lot! The collection is already proving its value in enriching our teaching offer and Christine is being a brilliant advocate for it. It’s also very satisfying to witness the great work Christine and her volunteers are doing with our theatre programme collection.

Items from the Louis James Collection

Alex is keeping the Phase One rig busy and producing amazing images from the cartoon and theatre collections. This enables greater access as well as supporting the preservation of the collections. Mandy continues to beaver away making sure our cuttings collection is kept up to date. At the same time, she has been digitising some original art works and sheet music. Sam has been working on digitising and cataloguing collections in the British Cartoon Archive, specifically Lawrie Siggs and Donald Rooum Collections. You can now find the records for Lawrie Siggs on our catalogue. Jacqueline completed cataloguing the Arnold Rood collection, Jack Reading and Colin Rayner’s collection, Charles Lewen’s collection, and books from the David Drummond Pantomime collection. It’s always a joy to see what treasures she brings back from the basement!

Our colleagues from the Curation and Discovery team, Stu, Matthias and Emma have been working with us one day per week and continue to make big strides in dealing with our British Cartoon Library backlog as well as our digital cartoon collection and various book collections, making them available to everyone.

I never cease to be amazed and humbled by the talented people that come to support us in our work. Our volunteer projects this year have yet again been hugely successful – many thanks to everyone who has helped us in 2024! – and we look forward to working with our current and new teams of volunteers in 2025.

If you are on campus do drop by the Templeman Gallery, Block A|1. The team are currently installing a wonderful exhibition about pantomime (Oh yes they are!) which I promise will not disappoint you. The new listening station has some lovely content on it. And do keep an eye on our social media channels for updates on our associated events.

Sneak preview of our upcoming pantomime exhibition ‘Magnificent! Spectacular!’

Clair (Digital Archivist)

Once again, the year has gone by super-fast and I feel as if I can only just recall all the amazing things the team has achieved this year, but there are a few stand outs for me.

Firstly, we are so lucky to have worked with some amazing volunteers and placement students this year.I supervised a group of three students – Lizzie, Harvey and Nirvanna – who worked on packaging and preserving some ceramic objects in the British Cartoon Archive. You can read a blog post about this work here. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with our lovely volunteers, one of whom, Grahame, not only donated a collection of theatre programmes to us last February but also committed to listing them all for us! He’s now finished that work but continues to volunteer with us, working now on our Max Tyler collection.

Completed packaging of Holt Bairnsfather Collection objects.

We’ve received some fabulous material for the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive this year which I’ve had the pleasure of sorting, accessioning and cataloguing, including three fan collections (Laura Grimshaw’s Teenage Obsessions, Richard Gill’s ‘A Rich Comic Life’ Collection, and the Joseph Champniss Collection), the Lakin McCarthy Entertainment Ltd Collection, and a collection of material from Stewart Lee.

Our loan service has been busy again this year, with British Cartoon Archive material going out to the Herne Bay Cartoon Festival and Imperial War Museum, and a continuing loan of a Nick Garland cartoon to the V&A that is part of an international touring exhibition.

Image of the V&A exhibition ’Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser’ installed at the V&A Musuem in South Kensington.

The poster for the ‘Churchill in Cartoons’ exhibtion outside the doors of the IWM.

It’s such a pleasure that we’re able to share our collections to the wider public in this way and I really enjoy being able to make connections with institutions in Britain and abroad through supporting their exhibitions.The exhibition at the IWM (Churchill in Cartoons: Satirising a Statesman) opens from 29 November 2024 to 23 February 2025, so do check this out if you can. We were very lucky to be invited to the Private View of the exhibition, which we very much enjoyed. It’s a fabulous look at Churchill’s political career through satirical cartoons. And I’m delighted to say we already have two exciting loan requests in process for next year, so things aren’t slowing down!

Lastly, I was thrilled to organise a Halloween event with my colleagues Beth and Christine this year. Called ‘Ghost Stories’, it was a behind-the-scenes tour of our archival stores with a difference! Attendees were titillated with (battery-powered) candle-lit readings of classic ghost stories. The event was very well received, and we hope to do another event next Halloween, albeit with a new spooOoOOooky theme.

An image of a spectre in our stores, lit only by emergency lights and (battery) tea lights

Beth Astridge (University Archivist)

Exhibitions in the Templeman Gallery

We run a regular programme of exhibitions in the Templeman Gallery and our ‘Mining in Kent’ exhibition was a particular highlight! Using a range of our archive material this exhibition told the story of the history of mining in Kent, from the early days of discovering the Kent coalfield to the impact of the 1984 Miners’ Strike. We were able to showcase material from several collections including the Richard Richardson Mining Collection, the British Cartoon Archive, the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, and the Labour and Socialist Newspapers. We held several tours of the exhibition as well as a launch event and have been really pleased with the local interest and feedback about exhibition and our events. We are particularly grateful to one of our volunteers, Amy Green, who assisted with research, writing panels and captions, and installing the exhibition.

We also curated a virtual version of this exhibition which you can view on our exhibitions page.

Image of Coal Not Dole leaflet from the Richard Richardson Mining Collection

Another exhibitions highlight this year has been our collaboration with the Brook Rural Museum on an oral history project relating to memories of hopping and hop production in the Brook and Wye area of Kent. This resulted in an exhibition in our Gallery space featuring recordings of the oral history interviews alongside material that described the history and future of hop production in Kent. This exhibition will be on show again in 2025 at the Brook Rural Museum, so make sure you plan a visit!

Page on Picking Hops from Ann and Jane Taylor, Rural Scenes or a peep into the country: For children (1840), a book in our Children’s Literature collection (S 519.T23 TAY CLC

Listening Station

Our Listening Station in action during the exhibition, Local Stories: Memories of Hopping around Brook and Wye, Kent

The oral history exhibition gave us the opportunity to show off our new listening station in the Templeman Gallery. This is a new audio-visual unit that allows us to upload video and audio material for viewers to listen to/watch in the exhibition space. It is hearing aid enabled and has two listening speakers – so please watch out for future opportunities to discover more of our video and audio collections – including material for our next exhibition on the David Drummond Pantomime Collection.

Philanthropy and Fundraising

Page from early records of the National Benevolent Fund showing some of the early donors/subscribers, National Benevolent Fund Archive

The UK Philanthropy Archive continues to thrive and a highlight this year was receiving some important new collections. In July we received the collection of the National Benevolent Fund – a charity established in 1812 which used a subscription model to support ‘distressed gentlewomen’ with pensions and annuities and later supported those experiencing poverty. The collection had been identified as a collection at risk by The National Archives and we were pleased to play a part in saving this fascinating collection and giving it a home.

In September we were delighted to receive the archive collection of the John Ellerman Foundation along with a grant to enable the repackaging and cataloguing of this important collection of a foundation established by Sir John Ellerman, once Britain’s richest man, and the family behind the Ellerman Lines and Wilson Lines shipping business. Look out for more about this in 2025 when we start the cataloguing process.

And finally, also in September, we received the Jack Petchey Foundation archive. Sir Jack Petchey was a businessman and philanthropist who started a taxi business, a second-hand car business and later a property business, generating the wealth that he dedicated to charitable work and philanthropy focussed on young people through his Foundation. The full catalogue for this collection will appear on our website soon.

This year we have also made great strides towards cataloguing the Craigmyle Fundraising Consultants collection – a project that will be completed in 2025! The partial catalogue is available now to view on our website.

University Archive

In the University Archive we are gearing up to the University’s 60^th anniversary celebrations later in 2025. One aspect of this will focus on music and live music performances on campus, and I have enjoying communicating with alumni who have memories and sometimes photo evidence of fantastic bands and gigs they attended. Volunteers Peter Stanfield and more recently David Blair have been doing an amazing job researching and logging the gigs and bands who played at the University since we opened in 1965. We are looking forward to making this complete list available for researchers and former students highlighting what it was like to work, study and enjoy live music on campus throughout its history!

Cataloguing the David Drummond Pantomime Collection

The Archives Revealed funded cataloguing project was almost(!) finished this year by our brilliant Project Archivist Daniella Gonzalez.

Students from EKC Canterbury College studying the David Drummond Pantomime Collection – image courtesy of Amanda Sefton-Hogg, Canterbury Festival.

We are using Daniella’s work to inform the final exhibition of the year – Magnificent! Spectacular! – which will showcase this fantastic collection and tell the story of the history of pantomime from the early days of the Commedia dell’Arte to the modern extravaganza we know today!

A panto project highlight was working in collaboration with the Canterbury Festival and EKC Canterbury College to bring more than 100 students onto campus to use the David Drummond Pantomime Collection as inspiration for coursework across subjects such as fine art, textiles, graphics, and photography. You will be able to see a couple of the students creations in our exhibition, and we were super pleased that this highlight was featured in The National Archives publication, A Year in Archives.

Christine Davies (Special Collections and Archives Coordinator)

I had the great pleasure this year of cataloguing the collection of literature gifted to us by a former professor of Victorian and modern literature at Kent, Louis James. The Louis James Collection primarily comprises literature of the Caribbean and African diasporas, but there are also important theoretical and historical works on race, colonialism and slavery too. Many of us have heard of Olaudah Equiano, the famous abolitionist, but Mary Prince is less well known – born into slavery in Bermuda, her dictated memoirs were published in London in 1831 and reprinted twice in the same year. Further highlights in the collection, for me, include an unpublished typescript of Derek Walcott’s play Franklin; diverse artisanal, cloth-bound books published by the Writers Workshop (a small printing press established in Calcutta); the plethora of Caribbean poetry which details the migrant experience in Britain with irony, sometimes anger, always charisma, and which – on the page and in performance – was completely innovative. Kamau Brathwaite created the ‘Sycorax video style’ by combining customized typefaces with irregular page layouts; others’ are marked by their rhythmic similarity to reggae (dub) and/or their fusion of dialects. Amongst the African literature, there are works that reflect on Apartheid, delve into Anasi lore, and diverse anthologies that celebrate the continent’s diversity (from works of magical realism to social justice, from Nobel prize winners to Onitsha market literature); one of the most powerful works, for me, is Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the cross, the manuscript of which was written in secret, from gaol, on toilet paper. The collection amounts to more than 1000 items and is fully accessible on Library Search.

Examples of Writers Workshop publications in the Louis James Collection, as displayed for our South Asian History Month Archives tour

I’ve also had good fun this year devising new material and seminars for Kent’s School of English, which gives students the opportunity to handle rare books and consider the intricate cultural and socio-political contexts of their period of study. The explosion of print in the eighteenth century gave rise to numerous newspapers and periodicals, the latter typically published monthly. These new arenas of print were not only used to disseminate information but also direct public taste and opinion and even shape literary developments. Fiction could be serialised in these monthly publications and biographies and gossip columns fuelled an emerging celebrity culture, giving voice to more obscure figures since forgotten – how many of you have heard of the blind poet and early disability advocate, Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791)? Did you know that The Lady’s Magazine (1770-1847) provided inspiration for both Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters?

Volunteer Amelia Bocskei working on photographs found in Terry O’Brien’s programme collection

As Beth and Clair have both mentioned, we couldn’t do all we do without the invaluable support of our volunteers, and this year has marked a significant leap forward in the management of our theatre programme collections.

Through the collected efforts of Ladaya Berrier, Amelia Bocskei, Stefana Ivanova, Rhea Nurice Lempert and Jessica Mulroy, thousands of programmes have been organised, re-packaged, and listed on spreadsheets, and this will be used to create and enrich catalogue records next year. This work has already enabled us to consolidate our existing holdings of theatre programmes and refine our collecting priorities; it has also enhanced our engagement work by filling gaps in performance history. Our volunteers have also found the experience greatly beneficial, stating how much a privilege it has been “to preserve a voice from the past” and “interact with original historical documents.”

Alex Triggs (Digitisation Administrator)

The high-resolution digitisation of the British Cartoon Archive collections continued throughout 2024 utilising the Phase One photographic rig. This year the focus has been on the original cartoon artwork of Mac (Stanley McMurtry), cartoonist with the Daily Mail. Mac’s career with the Daily Mail began in 1971 and lasted for almost five decades. As a result, this collection contains circa 5000 items of which approximately 80% have been digitised during the year. In addition, a selection of playbills from the David Drummond Pantomime Collection have also been digitised over the past 12 months. Many of these date back to the 1850s and require careful handling as they are extremely delicate.

Left: Our ‘digital kitchen’; Right: a playbill from the David Drummond Pantomime Collection.

On the audio-visual side, I have continued the digitisation the University of Kent Archive collection of vulnerable analogue magnetic audio cassette tape recordings. Moving forward, I am now beginning to address the significant number of at-risk VHS video cassette recordings contained within a several of the Special Collections, perhaps most significantly the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.

Mandy (Special Collections & Archives Assistant)

I always enjoy scanning our Carl Giles collection every year for the Giles Annual, they are always fun. I have scanned 6,000 cartoons in our Hector Breeze collection, which is so interesting to do. I’m now working on another cartoon collection – the Alan Ralph Collection – which is now being digitised. The song sheets in the Max Tyler Music Hall Collection have also been so lovely to scan as some of them are so vintage and very delicate. Overall, it has been a busy and interesting time for 2024!

Hector Breeze cartoon (HB0012)

Jacqueline Spencer (Project Curation and Discovery Administrator)

I began the year cataloguing Arnold Rood’s collection of books on theatre. He collected widely around a strong nucleus of works by and about the extraordinary theatre designer (and son of Ellen Terry) Edward Gordon Craig. Next, I catalogued the extensive set of 20^th century theatre periodicals in the Reading Rayner collection, then I added books from David Drummond Pantomime Collection to the library catalogue supporting the project to catalogue his archive. He collected books related to pantomime including both scholarly works on the origins of the genre such as ‘The reminiscences of Thomas Dibdin at the Theatres Royal, Drury Lane ..’ of 1824, and some lovely, illustrated children’s books such as ‘Naughty Cinderella’ from 1936. Charles Lewsen’s books on theatre arts enhance our collection scope in this area, his collection contains more 19^th century material. This delicate personification of ‘La Comedie’ with mask and barely visible sprites over her shoulders is the frontispiece from his copy of ‘Masques et bouffons (Comedie Italienne) with text and drawings by Maurice Sand, Paris 1862.

‘La Comedie’, Masques et bouffons (Comedie Italienne) with text and drawings by Maurice Sand, Paris 1862

The Holt Bairnsfather books came next, with a bottom-up view from the trenches of the 1914-18 World War. As this year ends, I have started cataloguing the Muggeridge Book Collection. Focusing on windmills in the U.K. and the Netherlands, William Burrell Muggeridge and Donald Muggeridge were also interested in industrial archaeology and country life and work and sought out locally published pamphlets which can be hard to find as well as substantial scholarly works on mills. Their books are now to be found in our ‘Wind and Watermills Collection’.

Matthias Werner (Curation and Discovery Administrator)

This year I have been focused on cataloguing books and cartoons for the British Cartoon Archive (BCA). I’ve catalogued the remaining books from the Eric Linfield Collection. I am currently working on the John Jensen Collection. John Jensen passed away in 2018, and the Special Collections Team has collaborated with his widow, Pat, and sons, Hal and Sean, to incorporate material from his estate into the existing collection at Kent. The books that have been passed on to us are from various eras and countries and primarily focus on caricature, cartoons, and comics.

Das grosse Trier-Buch, Walter Trier (1972)

My personal highlight, however, has been working on a book from our general BCA collection: Cataloguing a book on Walter Trier, a renowned German artist and illustrator, best known for his work on Erich Kästner’s children’s books. Seeing illustrations like the one below brought back some fond memories from my own childhood.

Additionally, I continue to catalogue Steve Bell’s cartoons for the BCA catalogue. Steve has been sending us his works published in The Guardian, ensuring they are preserved in the national cartoon archive. Looking through pieces like the one below takes me back to the surreal and bewildering times of the COVID pandemic.

[No caption], Steve Bell, 04 Mar 2020 (4470-040320 CONVID19)

Emma Solway (Curation and Discovery Administrator)

Ella Baron- Political Cartoonist

The British Cartoon Archive, housed in Special Collections and Archives, is a unique and ever-expanding collection. I have recently started cataloguing cartoons published in the summer of 2024, from a range of newspapers and cartoonists. This is challenging as each artists’ signature caricatures, styles and motifs must be learned and recognised over time. In addition, describing the events satirised within each cartoon involves developing a good knowledge of current domestic and world politics and the significant public figures of the day. This is an interesting and stimulating part of my job, even more so when a cartoonist new to you grabs your attention.

[No caption], Ella Baron, 05 Jul 2024 (115193)

It is still quite rare to see political editorial cartoons drawn by women in my work, so she interested me immediately. The “boys’ club” is a common complaint of women working as cartoonists. As most editorial cartoonists stay in their jobs for life and are historically all men, this leaves women with little opportunity. However, it was great to see Ella’s biography, as she is having a flourishing career working regularly for the Times and the Guardian amongst others, after winning the British Cartoon Associations Young Cartoonist of the Year in 2017. As she once commented she enjoyed making a living from drawing Trump all day, I’ve included one of her cartoons featuring him from the Times in August this year. To learn more about Ella visit Ella Baron Cartoons.

Phoebe Barnes – Special Collections and Archives: Preserving the Past and Shaping the Future

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Clair Waller

What follows is a blog post written by Phoebe Barnes, a Kent student who completed a week-long internship with Special Collections and Archives in November 2024 as part of her research for her dissertation.

My Week at the University of Kent’s Special Collections and Archives: Preserving the Past and Shaping the Future

[In November 2024] I had the opportunity to intern at the University of Kent’s Special Collections and Archives, immersing myself in the captivating world of historical preservation. During my time there, I gained invaluable hands-on experience in archival preservation techniques, delved into Canterbury’s rich history, and engaged in insightful conversations with the archivists whose work upholds these collections. My week spent alongside this dedicated team not only deepened my appreciation for the significance of archives but also illuminated their evolving role as stewards of community memory and culture in the digital age.

Photograph taken at the corner of Burgate and Buttermarket c.1950s, Crampton Canterbury Photograph Collection (LH/CANT/PHO/12/102)

Rediscovering Canterbury in the 1940s Through Historical Photographs

One of my initial tasks involved rehousing a collection of photographs from the 1940s—a delicate process that allowed me to interact directly with images from a bygone Canterbury. As I transferred these photographs into archival-quality storage, I was struck by the scenes captured on film: familiar landmarks in their original, often unexpected settings. The photos challenged my assumptions about the city’s past—Canterbury’s streets were not as cobbled as they are now! This work underscored for me the power of visual history, highlighting the importance of preserving such images for future generations to appreciate and learn from.

Assisting with Seminars and Learning Preservation Techniques

Throughout the week I assisted in preparing for student seminars, which introduced students to historical materials in an engaging, hands-on environment. Observing the students’ interactions with these primary sources offered an inspiring perspective on how archives can bring history to life, sparking interest in research, history, and archival studies. Witnessing their reactions to these authentic materials reinforced my understanding of archives as vibrant educational resources.

In addition to seminar preparation, I took on a variety of preservation tasks, from meticulously cleaning fire-damaged sketchbooks with specialised brushes and smoke sponges, to creating custom protective covers for books dating back to the 1800s. These activities required patience and precision. Each task reminded me of the care and dedication that preservation work demands to ensure that these historical treasures endure for future generations.

Touring the Stronghold and Discovering Preventive Preservation Practices

One of the highlights of my internship was a tour of the archive’s stronghold, where the most sensitive and rare materials are housed. In this climate-controlled environment, I observed the extensive preventive measures employed to preserve delicate items, from temperature and humidity control to collaborative conservation efforts with experts, including those from Canterbury Cathedral. I was struck by the proactive nature of preservation work – it’s not solely about repairing items but involves safeguarding them from deterioration in the first place.

Special Collections and Archives store

Visiting Canterbury Cathedral’s Libraries and Discussing the Role of Modern Archives

Mid-week, I had the chance to visit the archives, reading room, and libraries at Canterbury Cathedral, where I continued to explore primary sources and connect with experienced archivists and conservationists. Our conversations with the collections team were particularly thought-provoking, as we discussed the evolving role of archives in today’s world. Archives are no longer static repositories of old documents; they are dynamic spaces that foster a sense of community and historical awareness. The team shared insights into how archives support cultural identity, encourage historical understanding, and promote collective memory.

The Reading Room at Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library

A significant aspect of this work involves digitisation, which enables archival materials to reach a wider audience and facilitates access regardless of geographic limitations. By digitising fragile items, archives allow individuals around the world to engage with history, explore primary sources, and take part in the shared experience of discovering our collective past. This commitment to accessibility and outreach emphasises how archives are adapting to the demands of the modern world, making history available to all.

Reflections on a Transformative Experience

Reflecting on my week at the University of Kent’s Special Collections and Archives, I am incredibly grateful for the experience. While I entered this internship with a sociological view of the archival space, I left with a newfound respect for the archival practice and a deeper appreciation of the vital role archives play within the community. From handling historical photographs and learning preservation techniques to discussing the importance of archives in community building, each day provided fresh insights into this meaningful work.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to Christine, Beth, Clair, and the entire team for their guidance and mentorship. This internship revealed to me that archives are far more than mere collections of historical documents; they are dynamic, accessible resources that promote education, community engagement, and a shared appreciation of our past. This experience has inspired me to consider the many ways we can support and interact with archives to ensure these invaluable collections remain accessible and preserved for generations to come.

Preserving ceramics – a work placement project

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Clair Waller

We welcomed three university students to the archives earlier this year to work on ceramic objects in our Holt Bairnsfather Collection and Graham Thomas Collection. The students were joining us on work placements as part of their studies, and were asked to complete a number of tasks to help us preserve, catalogue and make accessible these collections:

Reviewing: Carrying out a condition report for each item in the collection and photographing each item
Cleaning: Using conservation materials to gently clean the items to ensure they are free of dust and grime
Repacking: Creating custom enclosures for each item using plastazote and ‘Really Useful Boxes’
Listing: Creating descriptions for each item in a spreadsheet that will be imported into Calm, our Collection Management System

You can find out more about these collections on our catalogue:
Holt Bairnsfather Collection
Graham Thomas Collection

Harvey (Canterbury Christ Church University)

Working on the Bairnsfather Collection has been my first experience working as a part of an archival team. It has been an amazing experience and has taught me a lot about not only how working in an archive works but also about a part of history that I did not know a lot about before starting my placement here.

The work I did as part of the team was cataloguing, filling out condition reports, and packaging the items that were to be added to the collection. When cataloguing and completing condition reports it was vital to note down every important detail which people might find important when looking to study these items. Fully assessing the condition was also important as it could be that a detail that someone wanted to look at is damaged, or it could help the archival team know what needed to be handled with a little extra care. When looking into the items to write up their description I learned a lot about not only the items themselves but also about the history surrounding them. This was history I was unlikely to look into myself as I am more of a medievalist.

The beginnings of packaging being constructed

The process of creating protective packaging for the items was a very interesting one as it was not something I had considered as a part of working in an archive before this point. It was one of the reasons for which I applied to do my placement at the Kent Special Collections and Archives department. The way I created the packaging for the items changed throughout my placement.

The figure of President Wilson, depicted holding an ammunition shell.

At first I took measurements at every new layer of plastazote (the main material used in the creation of the packaging). However, by the end, I would measure the first layer and then use that as a template for the rest of the layers. Using scraps of the foam was also a way in which I could make layers on particularly unique shapes of items as it was easier to use the smaller, already-cut pieces than it would be to cut out new ones.

Overall, I found my time working with the Bairnsfather Collection to be very rewarding. The skills and history I learned are invaluable and I look forward to going back and helping out again.

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Nirvanna (Canterbury Christ Church University)

This post is dedicated to commemorating the University of Kent’s Special Collections and Archives department and their continuative effort to make unique historical collections available to the benefit of wider society. This department houses and stores over one hundred and fifty collections which range from materials including memorabilia, ceramics, and publications. Throughout the duration of my time working alongside this department, I assisted with the archival processing of the Graham Thomas Collection.

The Graham Thomas Collection

This collection was gifted to the University’s Special Collections and Archives Department by the former lecturer in politics Dr Graham Thomas, after he passed away in April 2023. Dr Graham Thomas was an active participant in the founding of the British Cartoon Archive in the early 1970s. His addition to the Archives consists of the personal items he acquired throughout his lifetime, relating to theatre and cartoons, including the political and cartoon ceramics that will follow in this post.

F.C.G “Toby” Jugs

Fig 1. Pictured is the F.C.G “Toby” Jug Collection depicting seven of the eleven allied war leaders, President Woodrow Wilson depicted in navy blue to the left, Marshall Foch in the centre and David Lloyd George on the right.

A large part of this collection is the political memorabilia collected by Dr Thomas in the form of ceramics. An example of this is the F.C.G “Toby” series pictured in figure 1. This collection represents the full series created by political cartoonist Sir Francis Carruthers Gould in 1917, depicting eleven allied war leaders as decorative ceramic toby jugs. These figures include Winston Churchill (pictured in figure two below) and President Woodrow Wilson (pictured in figure one above), both of whom were widely influential during World War I.

Figure two: pictured Winston Churchill Soane and Smith Toby Jug, 1918, © University of Kent Special Collections and Archives

The accumulation of this series has proven to be a rarity as, upon research, only a limited number of each character toby jug was produced by the makers, Wilkinsons Ltd. Accompanying the figures of the Toby jugs is documentation explaining the release of this toby series as pictured in figure three below. The documentation briefly states that during the time the series was released, there was an increase of demand leading to a ‘reserve list’ for subscribers enquiring after these unique pieces, which consequently required buyers to pay a high price for them. With their existence being in demand from consumers it prompted the producers Soane and Smith to destroy the moulds after their creation so that others could not attempt to replicate them.

Background of Political figure ceramics

The use of ceramics to depict images has been historically significant to convey wider societal opinions on specific subject matters. For modern-day political artists, ceramics and cartoon depictions will be created with the intention to capture the common thoughts and reactions to the affairs of political leaders. The narrative behind these creations has followed the attempt to admonish their audience using satire to question political thought and encourage subversion in the public.

Fig 3: Documentation of a poster promoting the release of the F.C.G “Toby” Series © University of Kent Special Collections and Archives.

The importance of archiving and housing records of such suggestive ceramics is so that there is an inclusive record of public opinion. Not only the fact of historical events, but the lasting effect of politicians on public lives. Many of which, during their time period, did not have a voice to change or challenge governmental authority on their own.

Concluding thoughts

In credit to the Special Collections and Archives department, the artefacts they collect continue to increase the exposure of unknown stories to the wider public. Thus, allowing the general public to access resources that sustain the education of past culture for current and future generations.

Lizzie (University of Kent)

I spent multiple weeks working as a volunteer in the University of Kents Special Collections department documenting and packaging the Holt Bairnsfather collection of ceramics with the cartoons of Captain Bruce Bairnsfather on them.

This was not only an enjoyable time but also educational. This experience allowed me to apply the information I had received during lectures as well as receive some additional insight into the career of archives. During this internship I experienced the process of cataloguing the ceramic collection (this included the writing of a description on excel that would later be put on the website) and packaging the ceramics.

While it started off easy with the packaging it became more difficult due to the unusual shapes of the ceramics like jugs cups and figurines. Each ceramic was stored properly in plastic containers with padding to prevent movement. As each item was packaged, I became more proficient and became able to make up a box in one to one and a half sessions depending on the number of objects.

A useful method was applied when helping me adjust to the volunteering; they gradually increased the difficulty of the objects until I got to the largest and most intricate box. This was the tea set. I had to pack seven cups and seven saucers as well as a tea pot and its lid in one box. This was the largest number of objects that needed to go into a single box that I had done. As the cups were all the same it saved time on documenting them onto the spreadsheet, but it still took the entire 6 hours I was there to get the whole box recorded. By the end of the second session I had completed work on the teapot and the saucers. These took a really long time as there was a lot of layers to the packaging that was needed to be cut in order for the ceramics to be secure. As I had to fit so much into one box I discussed with Clair, my supervisor, on how to fit it in. I couldn’t use the same method I had done for previous plates as there wasn’t enough room. This led to the plates being placed on their side rather than flat. I found that the teapot and teacups were more difficult to secure due to their handles. I had to cut through multiple layers of plastazote accurately and rather narrowly to ensure they fit. In comparison the saucers only needed rectangles which is easy to adjust when necessary.

Overall, this was a wonderful, and well supported experience in a friendly environment that enabled me to steadily progress through different difficulties. Out of all I’ve learnt it was also an amazing opportunity to explore the archives in the basement of the library and see how the ceramics would be stored after I had finished packaging them.

‘A Dialogue between Experience and a Courtier, of the miserable state of the worlde’ by David Lindsay.

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Joanna Baines

Written by Eleanor Barrell, student on HI6062: Dynasty, Death and Diplomacy – England, Scotland & France 1503 – 1603

‘Musing and marveling on the miserie that doth on earth from day to day increase’. This is a serious and lengthy didactic poem titled; A Dialogue between Experience and a Courtier, of the miserable state of the worlde (1581) by the Scottish herald and court poet, Sir David Lindsay of the Mount (1490-1555).

Inserted title page dating from 18th/19th century for this 1581 edition

Most commonly known as The Monarche, Lindsay’s Dialogue between Experience and a Courtier has been regarded by many historians, as his ‘magnus opus’. This is because he writes a world history in 6338 lines, beginning with Adam and Eve and concluding with the Last Judgement. He uses the classical literature technique of dialogue between the two characters called Courtier who is ‘tyred with travailing’ and ‘an aged man’ who is Experience, together with a narrative history of the world to answer questions presented by the Courtier about the fulfilment of life and salvation.

Lindsay’s Monarche reflects the knowledge that he would have had as herald about the religious and political issues in Scotland during the time. In ‘The first booke of the Monarche’, Lindsay introduces the Courtier and Experience. The Courtier asks where he can live a ‘quiet life’ away from his unpleasant life at court. Experience replies that the life he wants does not exist as the misery in this world developed from sin, he recounts the story of Adam and Eve to support his case. ‘The second booke of the Monarche’ is formed of Lindsay’s attack on idolatry of saints images, pilgrimages and finishing with a call for reform to the Church. The third ‘booke’ condemns the Church for profiting from the creation of Purgatory and temporal lands, the clergy for living wealthily and unable to fulfil their roles of office, and Rome having control over secular rulers. In the last book, Lindsay discusses ‘Death and the Antechrist, and of the generall judgment’ with the Courtier asking Experience when the day will be. Experience dates the year ‘Two thousand till the worldes ende’ but before then, fifteen signs will appear as warning. Lindsay uses the Apocalypse as the reason for the early modern world being dismal but also as another plea for reform and repentance. By raising these problems within the context of the Biblical history of the world, the push for reform is presented as an integral part of God’s scheme and the urgency to be ready for Jesus’ coming.

Quarter leather binding, impressed with gold.

This particular book was originally ‘Compiled in the Scottish tung’ by David Lindsay in 1554, then ‘first turned and made perfect English : And now the seconde time corrected and amended according to the first Copie’ in 1581. The 1580s in Elizabethan England was briefly threatened by radical puritanism in response to a Catholic resurgence. Therefore, this timely publication (1581) could imply that there needed to be a revival of Protestant literature to communicate the original causes for condemning the Catholic Church and maintaining reform. The date also implies that the popularity of Lindsay’s book had spread to England for it to be translated out of Scots into the English vernacular, many of his previous works had already been published in England before. This also coincides with Lindsay’s opinion on vernacular which is seen in ‘The first booke of the Monarche’ where he criticises the Roman Church for not speaking in vulgar tongue during Mass as it would allow people to understand and learn what is being said. To support his argument, he uses the example of God giving the Ten Commandments to Moses not in Latin or Greek but in the ‘language of the Hebrew’ so that every man, woman and child would know the law. Lindsay is upholding his argument and deliberately writing in Scots so that his Scottish audience can clearly learn from his writing, it is easily accessible.

Front cover of book recovered in marble paper. The measurements of the book are 191(l)x138(w)x127(d)mm which indicates that it would have been an easily portable book.

In the Templeman Library’s copy, the cover is recovered in marble paper which dates to around the late eighteenth and nineteenth century and would have been a cheap covering. The original binding of the book from 1581 has been replaced by a quarter leather binding, impressed with a simple gold design and lettering. This could indicate that The Monarche was a sought after book and in need of repair or possibly the owner wanted a uniform look for their bindings when displayed on a bookshelf. Furthermore, it is clear to see that the book has been amended as the pastedown and flyleaf are at the front and back of the book are on different paper which is intact and only slightly discoloured, indicating that it is newer addition to the original text. The most fragile pages of the book have been stuck down onto a new sheet of paper. The book lacks any decorative element to it as there are no woodcuts or ornate patterns, only a decorative border around the first letter of each book, known as factotums. This might suggest that the book was made to be produced quickly and cheaply.

A factotum of the letter W.

The title page, which has been reprinted on new paper and inserted into this 1581 published book, helpfully declares that the book is ‘very pleasant and profitable for all Estates, but chiefly for Gentlemen, and such as are in aucthoritie’. This is further supported by Lindsay explicitly showing in his fourth book, where he writes small segments for the people in authority, ‘to the Prelates’ and ‘brethren Princes’, that they may read his words and take guidance from them. This section is what the English publisher possibly had in mind when writing the title page. However, a more subtle indication that this book is aimed at a wider audience, is that not only is it written in the vernacular so that all can read but Lindsay deliberately incorporates a written world history and the Christian teachings surrounding death and the Last Judgement so that more common people could access them whilst the vernacular Bible was circulating. In Scotland, the Earl of Arran had legalised the English Bible in 1543 which enabled all men to read the bible in English or Scots but it was not printed in Scotland at all until 1579 and so the imported bibles came from England.

‘David Hall 1724 Eius Liber’ penned on the edge of the page.

Significantly, on the back of page 13 (13b), there is the inscription that reads; ‘David Hall 1724 Eius Liber’ which is Latin for ‘his book’. Was this the David Hall (1683-1756) who was a ‘schoolmaster and Quaker minister’ from Skipton in Craven, Yorkshire? There is no other significant marginalia within the book but on a couple of pages near the back, especially noticeable on the separate poem published within the Monarche; ‘The complaynt and publique confession of the Kings olde Hounde called Bagshe, directed to Bawty the Kings best beloved Dog, and his companions’ on page 119 in the ‘The fourth booke’, and also page 64, there are pen trials. This indicates that the reader was possibly making notes on a separate page whilst reading this book or the markings could be the reader’s own symbols to draw attention to important parts of the text. This shows that Lindsay’s poem was fulfilling its function of teaching his audience, may it be his intended or unintended audience.

Bibliography

Primary Source:

A Dialogue between Experience and a Courtier, of the miserable state of the worlde by David Lindsay (London: Thomas Purfoote, 1851). Special Collections & Archives, Pre-1700 Collection: C 581 LIN

Secondary Sources:

Collinson, Patrick., ed. Guy, John. 1995. ‘Ecclesiastical vitriol: religious satire in the 1590s and the invention of puritanism’ in The reign of Elizabeth I: Court and culture in the last decade’, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Edington, Carol. 1994. Court and Culture in Renaissance Scotland: Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, (USA: University of Massachusetts Press).

Harland, Richard. ‘Hall, David (1683-1756), schoolmaster and Quaker minister’ in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68171 [accessed 26/10/2018].

McGinley, J,. K. ‘Lyndsay [Lindsay], David (c. 1486-155), writer and herald’ in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography https://doi-org.chain.kent.ac.uk/10.1093/ref:odnb/16691 [accessed 22/10/2018].

Pearson, David. 2011. Books as History: The importance of books beyond their texts (London: The British Library).

Wormald, Jenny. 1981. Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland 1470-1625, (London: Edward Arnold Ltd).

Looking at Lanquet: A Closer Look at An Epitome of Chronicles

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Joanna Baines

Written by Bex Norris, student on HI6062: Dynasty, Death and Diplomacy – England, Scotland & France 1503 – 1603

Little is actually known about Thomas Lanquet’s life, except that he began writing his Epitome of Chronicles, but he died before it was finished. The Chronicles werefinished by Thomas Cooper and published in 1549, with the book later being known as the Coopers Chronicle. Lanquet died in 1545 after writing about the accession of Tiberius, with the rest of the book being written by Cooper. Despite the fact that very little is known about Lanquet himself, it is known that he was a historian and a humanist, which would suggest that he would have styled his work to mimic Classical literature, something seen as contemporarily popular.

Title Page of An Epitome of Chronicles

The copy of An Epitome of Chronicles held at Special Collections & Archives at the Templeman Library is interesting for several reasons. The book has been rebound and several pages of the beginning on the book have been replaced, most likely due to water damage, as seen in the images below. The newer elements of the book seem to have been replaced in the nineteenth or twentieth century. This is also seen with some pages where the original paper has remained partially intact, with the damaged elements being replaced with newer paper, as seen in the images below. This is something that is therefore unique to this copy of An Epitome of Chronicles and gives a clear idea that the book was not left in the best condition, potentially being left in a damp storage area that would have degraded these elements of the book to the point of needing replacing. [Editor’s note: this damage did not occur in the book’s current home!]

One of the damaged pages

Cover of An Epitome of Chronicles

Another interesting feature that is unique to this copy of Epitome of Chronicles is the fact it has been annotated. This is indicative that a previous owner of the book did not feel that it was important enough to remain unmarked, with one page containing a sum, which appears to be to do with the chronology of the history. This highlights the use and engagement with the book, as they were able to read well enough that they felt that they were able to annotate certain sections and to add their own thoughts. This suggests that the book was owned by a literate person who was able to write down what they thought of particular passages, giving an insight in to their responses from when they read the book.

Annotations

The work of Lanquet, and subsequently Cooper was to educate readers on the history of England as they saw it, with references to what was happening in the wider world. This would include who was ruling in other countries and if there were any plagues within countries, such as a pestilence in 491 B.C. in Rome. It is accepted within the writing that the Bible and Arthurian legend are history, and this is used to emphasise the chronology he was writing. Cooper, however, changes Arthurian legends to suit the history he wanted to tell, removing magic from his chronicles and replacing it with the power of the ‘common voice of the people’. Magic being removed when writing the histories would have been not only to make them a realistic part of history, but also because Cooper, who finished the chronicle, was a bishop, and the use of magic would not have fallen in line with his religious views. The histories therefore would have been adapted to suit the narrative that the authors would have believed in, as well as any political leanings that they may have had, which is shown with how the book is dedicated to Prince Edward and the Duke of Somerset. This highlights how Cooper would have been attempting to praise the prince, while affirming Protestant beliefs, with Cooper stating in the preface, ‘the holy scriptures […] teaches us politicall administracion, and let forth many notable examples, which in rulying a publike weal be necessary to bee knowen, and whereby the myndes of princis may bee stiered to the study of true nobilitee and vertue’. This explains why not only the biblical history is accepted as fact and dated within the chronicle, but also why it is so supportive towards the Tudors and how they are favoured by God. The fact that the book is also written in English, in a Gothic font, further highlights the break from Rome, as Lanquet and Cooper did not write in Latin, with English books being more common following the Reformation.

The preface not only gives an idea of the setting in which the book was written in, but also the type of person it was written for. As ‘the readyng of histories doth indifferently avayle all men’ and ‘Princis, yea and all other, that have auctoritee in great affaires and high matters, ought those examples and actes chiefly to consider’ suggest that Lanquet and Cooper believed that the main audience of their book would be those in a position of political power, and that history would be useful in knowing where previous leaders have failed and how they have succeeded.

Even though little is known about Thomas Lanquet, quite a lot can be discerned about England during his time from this single copy of An Epitome of Chronicles, with language choices giving an indication of the context that the book was written in, and additions to the book with owners’ notes giving a sense of the history of this particular copy of An Epitome of Chronicles. The book is unique to other copies because of its treatment since its publication in 1549, making it an interesting centrepiece for research, seen even in the past with different copies of the book. The way in which the book has been treated, such as the rebinding of the book because of its damage makes this copy unique to any others. The copy of Lanquet’s Epitome of Chronicles held in the Templeman Library is therefore interesting based on not only the history of England that it gives, but also in how it differs from other copies

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Lanquet, Thomas and Thomas Cooper, An Epitome of Chronicles [London: Thomas Berthelet, 1549] Special Collections & Archives: Pre-1700 Collection, C 549 LAN

Lanquet, Thomas and Thomas Cooper, ‘An Epitome of Chronicles’, Early English Books Online, <http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:image:176476> [accessed 31 October 2018]

Secondary Sources

Fletcher, Robert Huntington, The Arthurian Material in the Chronicles Especially Those of Great Britain and France (New York, NY: Haskell House, 1965)

H., C. W., ‘Queries with Answers’, Notes and Queries, 3^rd ser., 11 (1867), 332-333

Pearson, David, John Mumford and Alison Walker, ‘Understanding and caring for bookbindings’, British Library Preservation Advisory Centre, <https://www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/collectioncare/publications/booklets/caring_for_bookbindings.pdf> [accessed 30 October 2018]

Starnes, D. T., ‘Sir Thomas Elysot and the Lanquet-Cooper “Chronicle”’, The University of Texas Studies on English, 34 (1955), 35-42

Summerson, Henry, ‘Lanquet, Thomas’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, <http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-16056?rskey=e3o07u&result=1> [accessed 29 October 2018]

Wheatley, Chloe, Epic, Epitome, and the Early Modern Historical Imagination (Farnham: Ashgate, 2011)

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